Not all of us are professional photographers, but why not take photos that look professional? There are many ways to make your photos go from amateur looking to skillful looking. Picktorial makes it easy to edit files shot in RAW with a camera or phone. But what exactly does “shooting in RAW” mean? Well, that is what I will get into shortly.
What is shooting in RAW and why is it important?
To start off, a RAW image is what it sounds like. It is the most “raw” version of your photo. It comes straight from the camera’s sensor making it close to unprocessed. In fact, the picture is so RAW that it can only be opened in certain apps. A RAW image gives you information like the levels of light in your photo and exposure data. It is all of the image’s data captured, unlike JPEG which gets compressed allowing data to be lost. (Side note: I would highly recommend buying a camera that shoots in RAW).
Shooting in RAW is extremely important if you are very serious about how you want your photo to turn out after the editing process. RAW images give you the highest quality pictures, allow for easier correction of exposure issues, have finer detail, and result in overall better prints. With this data, it makes it easier to go more in depth and find what corrections need to be made to the photo.
How is shooting in RAW useful when editing your photos?
Of the pictures above, the image on the left is the RAW unedited image and on the right is the RAW edited image. As you can tell from the unedited version, you can add your own touch to the photo to make it look however you want because a RAW image does not put any edits on the photo. When editing photos in any type of application, it is helpful to have all the data presented that shooting in RAW gives you. Editing in RAW helps you bring out certain highlights and shadows, and provides a white balance that would not show up as well if you were editing with a JPEG image.
The image quality looks more professional than if you were working with a JPEG image. A RAW file allows you to have full control of how you would like to edit your photo. Luckily, Picktorial is an easy to use RAW photo editing software. Before your photo gets compressed, you can edit freely and safely with Picktorial as shown on the right. Something as simple as a brush stroke can take advantage of the dynamic range preserved by RAW photos to recover shadows.
Advantages of editing in Picktorial
When searching for the perfect photo editing software, it is necessary to make sure the application you are using allows you to not only edit photos in RAW, but to also easily convert your photo to a JPEG. A RAW image will not open on any software. Not all companies are up to date on what it means to shoot in RAW and how significant it actually is when photo editing. As briefly touched upon earlier in the article, Picktorial gives you access to edit your RAW photos on your Mac along with a seamless conversion when needed. Picktorial has the resources for you to capture pictures in any format you would like making the editing process easier and giving you the exact quality you want for your image.
When looking for photo editing software to invest in, a main priority is whether or not it allows you to edit your images in RAW or not. There are few applications that give you this option even though it is a necessary tool to make most photos look close to perfect. Picktorial gives you the option to edit in RAW with an easy workflow. All of your photos will look professional when finished.